Rugby 06

Hard hits, Haka and hookers. What more do you need?

Before delving into EA Sports Rugby 06, let's do an educational flashback to 1982. It's Cal vs. Stanford in the Big Game. John Elway has just marched downfield and given Stanford the lead with seconds remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, Cal takes the ball from its own endzone and, after an endless stream of laterals, Kevin Moan barreled into the Stanford marching band and the endzone for the win. In the words of announcer Joe Starkley: "Oh my God, the most amazing, sensational, traumatic, heart rending... exciting thrilling finish in the history of college football!"

That, my friends, is basic rugby in a nutshell, minus the wussy marching band, of course. (Coincidentally, Cal also has one of the finest club rugby teams in the nation, with 21 national championships, including one in 1981.)

Seriously, that's an easy way to describe the gameplay of Rugby 06: like a great stream of laterals in college football, except faster, more fun (passing, not the game), with, believe it or not, harder hits. While Rugby is the furthest thing from America's pastime, EA has put together a very enjoyable game with its latest rugby title. In fact, if IGN editor Chris Carle called Rugby 2005 the greatest rugby game ever, and Rugby 06 is even better, then, well, you do the math. If you're new to the game, check out Rugby 101 with former Canadian national team captain Ryan Banks.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.

And while not a giant leap over 2005, 06 is a subtle improvement, thanks to the addition of even more tournaments and a few on-the-pitch enhancements. Rugby 06 starts off with a basic tutorial for those new to the sport, and although it doesn't explain the finer points of the game, it does an adequate job as an introduction to the rules of rugby and to the game's controls. It will, however, take a lot of lopsided losses and some Internet research before you grasp the finer rules of rugby, like when to punt or make a run for it. Fans with knowledge of the game can skip the tutorial and head straight for the pitch.

On the field, not much has changed from 2005, and that's a good thing. EA added off-load passing, which is basically passing as you're being tackled. In 2005, when you entered a tackle animation, that was it. You were going down. This year, you can dump the ball to a teammate and continue the run, which works great because you are basically eliminating the tackler from the defense. Obviously, the accuracy of the pass is not as great, but an off-load pass in a two-on-one situation is a guaranteed try.

That's one example of the little things EA did to spruce up its already impressive game. The Haka, the Maori dance-ritual and pregame tradition of New Zealand is included in the game, as well as waving flags in the crowd, smoky lighting, three-dimensional grass, visual player breath and quick lineouts and penalties. All of this adds to the most immersive rugby experience to date.